General Info: Hulls Issues on Fountaine Pajots

[Scott730]

I have sailed both the Athena (delivered one from charter in BVI to Miami) and own the Mahe. There are pluses and minuses to both. What sold me on the Mahe is the space, the heads are exceptional for a 36' Cat.( Really dislike the tiny heads on the Athena), the berths aft are full size queen beds, Head room is excellent. After 3 winters cruising the Bahamas, My wife would not trade up for a new 40'er. So I'm stuck with a great little cat.. To each his own.

Scott

[Dragon Lady]

Thanks Scott,

Yes I know what you mean about the wife liking the Mahe, their design is the next generation and the interior feels enormous.
Lopping that 2 feet off the boat also helps reduce all the fees involved with owning a boat.
What really worries me is that the Mahes are going to devalue quite a lot over the next few years and all the secondhand ones are priced at or above the new price.
Somethings got to give.
I believe Athenas are close to their bottom price one sold for under $130K recently and good ones are going for under $150K even though many are listed above $200K.
It's a good thing I have to wait untill the end of the year to buy.

[Scott730]

What you are not taking into considerations when comparing used Mahes to a new one. Are all the extra costs for a new boat. You need to compare apples to apples, all the new boats are very basic, you have to add lots of extras, then you have customs, delivery, taxes, as well as costs at F-P to float and test your new boat (commissioning). Sit down and look at the option list and all the costs associated with a new boat, it is not that much different then what a used boat cost with a lot of extras added by the owner.

[Dragon Lady]

Yes Scott, I realize there is more to it than just the basic list price.
However there has to be some or even a lot of depreciation on a boat that is a few years old.
This is not always the case, like when there is a waiting list for new boats and people can't wait to get a boat so they pay a premium price.

But there seems to be plenty of cats on the market that aren't selling especially here in OZ.

My guess which is only a guess, is that it will take between 5 to 10 years for the market to recover.

So in the mean time boats will depreciate, I think between 15% and 30% per annum probably only 15% for cats.

[Dragon Lady]

I received this info from a French company that charters and services Cat in the Caribbean:-

"All Fountaine Pajot boats built between 2002 and 2009 with infusion system can be concerned by osmisis. The shipyard finally changed the stratification technical and products."

This seems to line up with what owners are saying, the good news is the repairs and treatment seems to work as everyone has reported that there are no more problems after treatment.

[DtM]

I think your 15 % pa depreciation for a catamaran is wishful thinking on your part.

If it were so then a new $400,000 boat would be worth $178,000 at the end of 5 years.

I think that is well over the odds even with the GFC.

My 2 cents (after depreciation)

[Scott730]

Dragon Lady
Lets be specific, who is the charter company that sent you this info? All F-P owners would like to know about this info. and the proposed repairs necessary to fix the problem. As an owner, This is something I've yet to hear about.

[Dragon Lady]

Originally Posted by DtM

I think your 15 % pa depreciation for a catamaran is wishful thinking on your part.

If it were so then a new $400,000 boat would be worth $178,000 at the end of 5 years.

I think that is well over the odds even with the GFC.

My 2 cents (after depreciation)

Yes you are quite right I was relating to motor vehicle depreciation which not the same.
The reality is that the market price is, like many others have already said is what the market will pay.
This is extremely hard to determine at the moment, especially when you throw in the volatile exchange rates.

But back to my original point, a second hand boat at the moment is worth less than a new one even when you put all the fruit on.

And with the exchange rate going up with talk of interest rate rises, boat prices will most likely go the other way.

Just my one cents worth.

[Dragon Lady]

Originally Posted by Scott730

Dragon Lady
Lets be specific, who is the charter company that sent you this info? All F-P owners would like to know about this info. and the proposed repairs necessary to fix the problem. As an owner, This is something I've yet to hear about.

Sorry Scott, I will not post the originator as I am hoping to buy a boat from them and don't want complications.

The good news is that FP appear to be addressing the problem and I'm told are warrantying the work.

Also not all boats appear to be effected, so hopefully you as an owner won't have any issues with your boat.

I on the other hand am a buyer who likes the FP design and needs to be fully aware of what issues may exist in the boat I buy.

[muskoka]

The only boats affected are the Lavezzi's. They initiated a new manufacturing process with this model and they experienced problems with the gelcoats. So far, the factory has been good about doing the warranty work.

Interestingly, the hulls, rudders, and keels are all made separately so we had really bad blisters in the rudders and just a half dozen small blisters in the hull.

[Dragon Lady]

I think if you read this thread you will find that the Lavezzi was not the only boat effected, but the Lavezzi seems to have had the most problems.
Are you happy with your Lavezzi?
I'm thinking of buying one.

[jean1146]

We were sailing the last week end,great weather by the way,when I had to go to the bathroom.I suddenly notice that we had water almost over the floor and that's when the bilge pump decided not to work...I decided to taste the water and it was fresh water.It just happened that before we left I had filled up both tanks.So for some reason when the tanks where full instead of going overboard the water started to run down the starboard hull ....I have not had time to address the problem yet but may be some of you have an idea about what happened.By the way I used the emergency hand pump and it worked great.
JC.

[Scott730]

JC
I had the exact same problem. I found that the fill hose had broken, instead of filling the tank I filled the bilge on the starboard side. I replaced the flexible fill hose with a heavy duty one and have not the problem since. I believe the problem came from the use of bleach, I used a cap full of bleach for every 50 gallons of water. The problem came from the fact that I would put the bleach in after filling the tanks. The bend in the fill hose would hold some of the bleach and over time weaked the hose.
I agree the emergency hand pump works great!

[Kipper]

Same thing happened to me while I was filling the tanks, couldn't understand why the gauge wasn't moving, at first I thought I'd got the isolation valve closed for the tank with the level sensor, then I wondered if the gauge was faulty, it was very puzzling.

Luckily I was installing an AC unit at the time so I pulled the board up in the starboard hull and saw the very full bilge! Still, helps to rinse off any grime on the inside, can't say it's the first time I've nearly filled that hull

[jean1146]

Thanks guys.I knew it was probably nothing.just a matter of getting down there....luckily I am a thin guy!
JC.